Join a NYC based Commercial Finance Subsidiary of a publicly-held Bank as Senior Accountant. The Company is growing rapidly, is successful and has a dynamic, exciting culture. As a member of the finance team you will be report to the Vice President – Finance. We require a candidate to have a minimum of five years accounting experience, preferably in the accounting department of a bank or a finance company. CPA certification preferred. We offer a competitive salary, bonus and benefit package. Send all resumes in confidence to: financecompanyhr@gmail.com

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”
and was not written by Leasing News nor information verified, but from the source noted. When an article is signed by the writer, it is considered a “by line.” It reflects the opinion and research of the writer. It is considered “bias” as it is the writer’s viewpoint.

Fort Myers, Florida
Very experienced and strong skills with both Captive and Specialty Sales Management. Over 25 years , will relocate and travel---successful and team player.
e-mail: tlinspections@gmail.com

Free Posting for those seeking employment in Leasing:http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

Key Corp earnings more than doubled, reaching $813 compared with $390 million in all of 2010, but fourth-quarter earnings fell by 30% to $194 million from $279 million in the previous year. Key noted its fourth-quarter results were hurt by a $24 million charge resulting from Visa's late fourth-quarter announcement of a planned litigation escrow deposit.

Beth Mooney
Chairman/CEO Key Corp.

Once one of the leading lease financing entities, similar to US Bank Manifest (1), the direction of the Key has obviously changed as the numbers divulge; and as per Beth Mooney, Chairman and CEO, said November 20, 2010 in the announcement becoming CEO of Key Bank, replacing Chairman and CEO Henry Meyer, who was retiring, she said among her goals was to make sure that Key remains focused on being a "relationship-based, community bank." She said Key wants to grow and potentially have more branches and do business in more cities. The bank has been moving in that direction. (2)

January 12, 2011 CEO Mooney announced acquire 37 retail banking branches currently owned by HSBC Bank NA, ("HSBC") in Buffalo and Rochester, NY. This transaction will strengthen Key's ability to grow its presence, acquire customers and provide exceptional service to consumer, business banking and wealth.

Ironically more community banks are reportedly becoming interested in the lease financing product; the regional and super regional banks like Key and US Bank seem less interested.

Charles B. Wendel notes in the December Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation report "Community Banks and Equipment Finance---What it Takes to be a Success" (b), community banks, in particular, appear to be "rediscovering" the attractiveness of leasing. In some cases it can be the lead product that results in a fuller relationship. (3)

Perhaps the key is maintaining control of the credit, due delligence, and portfolio with the larger the size, the more people involved, the more the actual quality meteorites as the goal is to "beat the last quarter." Community Banks can maintain better control over quality from learning the mistakes of the past and going back to the basic good banking credit decisions. They can also pick up depositors and new general loan customers, too.

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), showed overall new business volume for December was $10.8 billion, up 20 percent from volume of $9.0 billion in the same period in 2010. Volume was up 74 percent from the previous month. Cumulative new business volume for 2011 rose 25 percent over 2010.

MLFI-25 New Business Volume (Year Over Year Comparison)
click to make larger
(ELFA Chart)

It appears every December, the year end brings great new business numbers, and may be due to the companies in the MFLI-25 list, such as ADP, who gets annual renewals of contracts, or some of the others on the list. (1)

ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE, said: “The dramatic surge in December new business volume is the result of several factors, which, when combined, form an almost ‘perfect storm’ of unusually strong business activity. First, demand for the lease/finance product increased as businesses replenished their capital equipment stock. Related to this are reports from many ELFA member organizations of a highly competitive pricing environment.

Rear Admiral, ret., William Sutton

"In addition, the pick-up in new business volume seems to support recent bank data that suggest that lenders are making more credit available to their commercial and consumer borrowers. Add to the mix a frenetic pace for end-of-quarter, end-of-year closings and the result is a very robust monthly performance.”

David Schaefer, President, Orion First Financial, LLC, located in Gig Harbor, WA, said, “Confidence is on the rise and businesses are beginning to replace aging equipment since they have been holding back over the previous few years. We remain optimistic that equipment replacement will continue but we aren’t certain we have entered an expansion phase across all industries.

David Schaefer

"The equipment leasing and finance industry continues to have access to capital and with rates low, we are well positioned to serve Main Street businesses as demand grows.”

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation January 2012 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry showed an increase to 59.0 from December 57.2.

Previously ELFA president, Valerie Hayes Jester, President, Brandywine Capital Associates, representing Independent, Small Ticket, observed: "“The industry has lent effectively through the recession and recovery and continues to play a strong role as businesses start to replace outdated equipment and undertake expansion plans.

Valerie Hayes Jester

“In the small ticket segment, we see opportunities that had not been present over the past few years. We view recent fourth quarter 2011 activity as a sign that 2012 may be the best year we have seen in the past three.”

Unfortunately, if charts above are correct, January always starts low.

Here are other ELFA MFLI-25 Charts:

Aging of Receivables:
click to make larger

Average Losses (Charge-offs) as a % of net receivables
(Year Over Year Comparison)
click image to make larger

Credit Approval Ratios As % of all Decisions Submitted
(Year Over Year Comparison)
click image to make larger

Total Number of Employees
(Year Over Year Comparison)
click image to make larger

Dakota Financial provides equipment leasing/finance solutions to small businesses throughout the United States. We specialize in providing funding for those who can not obtain financing from traditional sources.
www.dakotafinancial.com

National Business Development Manager
with minimum seven years experience and
current book of business. Strategically located throughout
US in various targeted industries. Click Here for more info.

Western Equipment Finance, a subsidiary of Western State Bank established in 1901, solicits originations throughout the US
and
provides funding solutions for a wide range of industries

Kevin F. Pickard named NetSol U.S. -based chief financial Officer, Calabasas, California. "Pickard has extensive accounting experience in the securities industry that includes serving as CFO and providing advisory services for publicly held companies in technology and software sectors. Additionally, Pickard has expertise advising on acquisitions and financial reporting for growth-stage companies...Pickard, a certified public accountant, earned Bachelor of Science in accounting and Master of Accountancy degrees from Brigham Young University."

Ulises Quezada has been named a consultant for The Alta Group Late American Region, LLC. He is located in Mexico. "...with more than 20 years of experience in the equipment and financing market, is the former commercial director of CIT Vendor Finance in Mexico. He joins Alta LAR’s team formed by Raul Valencia del Toro and Carlos Ruiz in the Mexican office. Quezada brings to the team his skills in day-to-day management of vendor financing operations in Mexico.

Kevin Ronan joins the CIT Group's Capital Equipment Finance Business as Director-Originations, “helping to rebuild CIT's previously well known and well respected middle market lending franchise. I will be primarily targeting non investment grade companies in all industries throughout the US, providing CAPEX financing, acquisition financing, restructures and recapitalizations. CIT will also “participate” in transactions with other lenders and intermediaries to help manage overall hold limits. My primary office will be based in Norwalk, CT., however I will also be working out of CIT’s 42nd Street office in New York City on a regular basis. “Previously he was vice-president RBS Asset Finance (March 2010-Present), and was Senior Level Business Direct and Indirect, Originations Sales Leader (January, 2990-January-2011), Senior Vice-President, Commercial Sales Leader, Asset Management, GE Capital (December, 2004-December, 2008), Vice-President, NE Regional Sales manager, GE Capital (April, 1997-December, 2004), Vice-President, Region Account Executive, General Electric (April, 1993-December, 1997). Pace University - Lubin School of Business MBA, Finance 2009 – 2012 (expected) Lubin School of Business Pace University - Lubin School of Business 1981 – 1985
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ktronan

Carlos José Sosa has been named a consultant for The Alta Group Late American Region, LLC. He is located in Columbia. "...with more than 25 years of experience in management consulting, is a former officer of Maraven (a PDVSA subsidiary). He entered the management consulting business with James Martin & Co., Ernst & Young, then worked with EDS Consulting, where he was assigned as regional consultant in both Colombia and Venezuela. Sosa has been providing management consulting advisory services since moving to Colombia. He is a computer science graduate with a master’s of business administration degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela."

Juan Nicolas Uribe-Holguin has been named a consultant for The Alta Group Late American Region, LLC. He is located in Columbia. He has "...more than 30 years of experience in the banking and financing industry, is a former officer of Citibank, Financiera Colpatria, Multifinanciera and Banco del Pacifico, where he led the corporate credit divisions. He is well known as an expert in workouts, restructures, and liquidations. Uribe-Holguin is an active management consultant in the financial services industry and a graduate of the business administration program at Boston University."

Taylor Walton hired as Credit Analyst for Blue Bridge Financial, LLC, Buffalo, New York. Mr. Walton, a recent graduate of the University of Buffalo School of Management, will be responsible for credit review of small business equipment loan applications. Brian Gallo, President, commented, “We are pleased to welcome Taylor to the Blue Bridge team. He will be an integral member of our credit group, which has grown in line with our over 400% increase in transactions funded during 2011.”

My journey is a long one! I first started back in March of 1970 as a credit analyst trainee for Westinghouse Credit Corporation in Downey, California. After several years in credit, I was asked if I would be willing to move over to the dark side (sales) because they were growing and needed someone. I had dealt with most of their vendor sources and it seemed like an easier job. In those early days the equipment financing, we did was primarily financed using conditional sales contracts and chattel mortgages. It didn’t really seem like selling to me because a sale was already being made. All that was left to decide was whether the buyer wanted to pay cash or needed some help with financing. I knew credit and could help the applicant. I also got out from under the daily paper rush and out of the office.

Business was booming and leasing was not even on our radar. I was building up vendor relationships and helped their customers and also getting repeat business. As the years went, I moved over to ITT Industrial Credit Corporation in 1980 as a Senior Sales Representative, but within three months I was promoted to Manager of their Los Angeles Branch Office (What were they thinking?!). That’s when the fear set in and I began to realize just how little I really knew about not only my own profession, but how was I to deal with all the other responsibilities of managing a dozen or so others. I felt I was a pretty good credit man, an okay salesman, but basically it was my fairly decent understanding of credit that got me ahead, but I soon realized a lot of other people seemed to know a whole lot more. We still didn’t work with or have a lot of experience dealing with leasing companies, as only a few existed and those we did see had these weird unfamiliar leasing documents and end of term conditions. There wasn’t a whole lot of educational leasing information available.

In 1985, I was hired to open a new office for Bank America Commercial Finance who wanted to do much larger transactions. The economy was sluggish and we weren’t price competitive and so within eighteen months we were absorbed into another BofA department and so I decided it was time to leave.

Now what? I didn’t know what my next move would be. One of my best friends, Warren Emard, President of Saddleback Financial and who I had worked with for nearly ten years at Westinghouse Credit Corporation, offered me a sales position with Saddleback Financial. For the next fourteen years I brokered lease and Equipment Finance Agreement (EFA) contracts. While I knew very little about lease documents, pricing, residuals, or what the various conditions in the documents meant. I knew a little about leasing credit and I learned whatever I could pick up from Warren and those already there. Although the Western Association of Equipment Leasing ((WAEL) now the National Equipment Finance Association)), I didn’t attend any meetings and training was still largely unavailable. Eventually after crossing paths on a number of deals with a few unscrupulous lease brokers, I was burned out and decided to leave the broker side and go back into credit. I was hired as a credit manager for a small leasing company that said they wanted to grow but that didn’t happen.

In the summer of 2001, I was referred to Ron Lear at PFF Bank & Trust. PFF, who at that time, was providing $1,000,000 to $50,000,000 full recourse warehouse and borrowing base credit lines to discount Lessors. The portfolio was rapidly growing and Ron needed someone to come in and help tweak and create back office processes needed to run and monitor the daily operations for the many relationships Ron had developed over the previous years. It took the bank over four months to go through the hiring process and because that was also during the 9/11 tragedy, I was certain nothing would happen. Happily, it did and I was hired. However; two weeks later Ron had a lot of vacation time and because I was there, he left on vacation for five weeks--- that’s when I realized, under fire, that I needed to know a whole lot more about this business because I was now dealing on a daily basis with senior management of twenty to thirty major leasing companies, our bank’s leasing attorney and the bank’s senior management.

In the spring of 2002, my wife Janet and I, attended our first United Association of Equipment Leasing ((UAEL) now National Association of Equipment Leasing)) Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. As I had never been to a leasing association conference before and I was eager to attend as many educational sessions as I could. In looking through the program agenda I noticed that one of the events was the Certified Leasing Professional (CLP) “Soaring with Eagles” breakfast meeting. I didn’t even know what a CLP was but I liked a good breakfast so my wife and I decided to check it out. We went and as we started going through the buffet line this wonderful, smiling, tiny ball of energy politely told me that unfortunately we were not invited to the breakfast because it was only for actual CLP’s. That’s how I first met Cindy Spurdle. Cindy told me I needed to become a CLP and she introduced me to my first CLP Handbook, which I also didn’t even know existed. I bought a copy and read it through several times……but I still wasn’t going to sit for the test. Who was I kidding? I hadn’t been to school in over thirty years and I heard the horror stories of those that passed before me! Although I had been in the industry over thirty years, how would I feel if I failed?

Thankfully and with gentle persistence, over the next couple of years I’d see Cindy at the spring and fall conferences and she’d always ask me when I was going to sit for the CLP Exam. In my case, I knew it was only the fear of failing that prevented me. Never-the-less, in 2005, I cautiously promised Cindy I would seriously study and sit for the next exam at the spring conference. I began to study the Handbook dally. I outlined each chapter; I made 3X5 cards and had sticky notes with definitions stuck on all the walls of my office and would refer to them throughout my day. I also met with Jaime Kaneshina, CLP, and my mentor, once a week and I was ready………….that is until I opened the exam and felt the pending doom.

Anyway, I managed to get through it, but after a few weeks had passed and I sitll hadn’t heard anything, I was convinced I failed. When Cindy finally called to inform me I had passed and to congratulate me. I was obviously very pleased and proud and I was ready to “soar with the eagles” at the next CLP breakfast.

While becoming a CLP definitely gave me much more knowledge and introduced me to many areas of leasing I wasn’t previously familiar with, it’s much, much more then the knowledge. It’s a validation that you’ve decided to became a much better leasing professional, that you are willing to continue with your education, that you are able to “talk the talk” with your peers, and you are aware of additional tools and methods needed daily to successfully navigate the many opportunities and problems this business has.

The CLP designation means you know your business and have earned respect from your peers and you are able to deal with almost any situation. Also, it means that you too can attend the CLP Breakfast and “Soar with Eagles”!

2012 Annual Convention February 11-14
Marriott World Center
Orlando, Florida, United States

IFA salutes our Veterans

IFA’s VetFran Operation Enduring Opportunity program is a campaign to hire 80,000 veteran franchise owners and team members, including 5,000 wounded warriors. Along with over 447 member companies involved in the campaign, come hear how you can play a role during our Panel of the Pros Super Session, Tuesday February 14th.

State of the Equipment Leasing and Financing Industry
co-sponsored with the National Association of Equipment Brokers

GUEST SPEAKER:

William G. Sutton, CAE
Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) President and CEO

Mr. Sutton will discuss the state of the equipment leasing and finance industry as well as the outlook for 2012. He will also share his perspective on the Washington regulatory and political landscape from his experience as Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services, a unit of the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, as Naval Aide to the President, and as Director of Navy Legislative Programs.

Specifically for Equipment Leasing and Finance Brokers-
about the National Equipment Finance Summit from NEFA Executive Director, Gerry Egan

A successful broker himself for many years, Gerry talks about the struggles faced today by many brokers and describes a way out by taking more control of your business and outlines a path for learning how to do just that. Always, positive, always encouraging, Gerry also tells how NEFA connections and conferences helped him and countless other brokers and what's specifically planned for this year's Summit to continue to pay that forward. Time: 6:46

Scheme to evade over $1Million in Tax and over $900,000 in misappropriated Client Fees

Los Angeles- Robert M.L. Baker III Law Offices in Santa Monica, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, before Judge Otis D. Wright to willfully subscribing and filing false tax returns in a conspiracy to commit tax fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud.

Robert M.L. Baker III, 46, admitted that he along with others devised a scheme to misappropriate client fees and settlements in order to evade payment of tax.

According to the plea agreement, Baker utilized shell entities and trusts to hide over $900,000 in client fess and assets from the Internal Revenue Service, including a house located in Westwood. Baker also submitted a false offer and compromise form by mail and filed false tax returns with the IRS in attempts to evade over $1Million in tax.

In furtherance of the conspiracy, Baker altered his banking practices. Baker used nominee bank accounts, converted client fees into cashier’s checks to pay personal expenses, altered and cashed checks, and directed clients and other law firms handling clients to mail and wire funds to nominee bank accounts.

As part of the plea agreement, Baker agreed to file amended corporate and individual tax returns correctly reporting gross receipts and deductions. Baker also agreed to make restitution in the amount of $2,108,175.

At sentencing, Baker faces a total maximum sentence of 26 years of incarceration; a three year period of supervised release; a fine of $2,000,000 plus twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greatest, and a mandatory special assessment of $800, as well as the cost of prosecution.

The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

#### Press Release ##############################

(Leasing News provides this ad “gratis” as a means
to help support the growth of Lease Police)

A pair of offbeat films (“Young Adult” and “Albert Nobbs”) offers two award-worthy female performances, while action-with-an-attitude (“Drive”), social dramas (“The Moment of Truth”) and provocative classics (“Belle de Jour”) debut on DVD.

In Theaters:

Young Adult (Paramount Pictures): After scoring with “Juno,” director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody team up once more for this tart, bittersweet tale of missed chances and risky possibilities. Charlize Theron stars as Marvis Gary, a thirtysomething writer of teenage fiction who’s roused out of her usual stupor by news that her former boyfriend Buddy (Patrick Wilson) has gotten married. Determined to win him (and, by extension, some part of her own youthful potential) back, she heads back to her small Minnesota hometown. Her plans, however, don’t go as originally planned, leading her to come face to face with family, old friends, and her desperation. A biting, surprising comedy with both a light and a dark side, this is a caustic showcase for Theron’s performance and Diablo’s wit.

Albert Nobbs (Roadside Attractions): Glenn Close delivers an acclaimed performance in this intriguing period piece, adapted from a long-running theatrical play. Set in Ireland during the 19th-century, it tells the story of Albert (Close), an efficient, diffident and mysterious butler who works at a luxurious, bustling house while harboring a secret—that he is actually a woman who’s been disguised as a man for the past 30 years. Dreaming of opening his own tiny business, Albert risks coming out of his shell and trying to court a capricious young maid (Mia Wasikowska). But will this lead to newfound happiness, or expose the masquerade? Directed by drama veteran Rodrigo Garcia (“Mother and Child”), this haunting movie displays acting not just a poignant portrayal from Close but also a scene-stealing one from Janet McTeer.

Netflix Tip:
Making his American breakout hit with this week’s “Drive,” Nicolas Winding Refn has for years delivered thrilling gems which are ripe for discovery with Netflix. So check out the “Pusher” trilogy (1996-2005), “Bronson” (2008) and “Valhalla Rising” (2009) to get acquainted with this punchy stylist.

On DVD:

Drive (Sony Pictures): Maybe it takes an outsider to make us look at the familiar anew, because Los Angeles at night has rarely looked as dangerous and vibrant as when shot through Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn’s camera in this brutally stylish urban thriller. Ryan Gosling stars as a nameless, coldly efficient driver who works by day as a stunt man in action movies and by night piloting the getaway car in robberies. Just when he seems to be developing emotions for his neighbor (Casey Mulligan), however, a job goes haywire and he finds himself face to face with a slew of mobsters led by a ruthless criminal (Albert Brooks, terrifically cast against type). Full of exciting visuals and attitude, this would make a perfect double-bill with such lone-wolf classics as “Thief” and “To Live and Die in L.A.”

The Moment of Truth (Criterion): A socially-conscious storyteller with a gift for robust compositions, Francesco Rosi remains one of the most underappreciated directors to emerge from the Italian cinematic renaissance of the 1960s. In this exceptional film from 1965, finally making its DVD debut, Rosi travels to Spain to chronicle the struggle of a young man whose sole escape from local poverty is to become a bullfighter. Miguel (real-life toreador Miguel Mateo Miguelin) seeks a way to rise from his slum roots, and finds it in the arenas of Madrid, where his skill with the cape earns him fame and fortune. But will he be able to transcend the corruption that comes with his new riches? Ruthlessly examining the anxieties underneath the mythical glamour of the sport, Rosi creates a complex, dynamic tale of identity and ambition. With subtitles.

Belle de Jour (Criterion): One of cinema's grand directors, Spanish surrealistic Luis Bunuel specialized in mixtures of elegance and savagery that never failed to rattle and stimulate audiences. This classic, originally released in 1967 but as modern as ever, concerns Severine (French icon Catherine Deneuve, in perhaps her most tantalizing performance), a young housewife whose proper bearing at home hides a provocative side as she creates a new identity for herself: Belle de Jour, the temptress who works afternoons at the luxurious local brothel. It's only a matter of time, however, before the men in her life start to notice that there's something peculiar about this supposedly icy lady. Handling controversial material with Bunuel's trademark, impeccably dry humor, this is a chance to see a master working at the top of his game. With subtitles.

Back Office: Laughlin, NV20 years experience on funder/broker sides. Looking for a relationship where I act as credit shop for smaller brokers when financial statements are involved.
E-mail:batarista@laughlin.net

Back Office – National
Spending too much time on processing credit applications, preparing lease documents and other administrative tasks and not enough time marketing and growing your business? Call us! 407.964.1232dee@leasebrokerassistant.com

Back Office: San Rafael, CAWe can run your back office from origination to final payoff. 30 years experience in commercial equipment lease and loan portfolio management.
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Back Office - Portland, OR Keep more of your hard-earned commissions! Middle-Market, Small-Ticket for brokers, nationwide, 20+years experience, negotiable splits. Contact us for more information at (888)745-9481 orbev@alliedpacific.net

Back Office -Portland
Portfolio Financial Servicing Company is a leading provider of private label primary and backup servicing for lease and loan contracts. 800-547-4905sales@pfsc.com

Back Office -Portland
Portfolio Financial Servicing Company is a leading provider of private label primary and backup servicing for lease and loan contracts. 800-547-4905sales@pfsc.com

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

1654-Jews flee to the New World: approximately 150 Jewish families of Portuguese background fled the city of Recife, in Pernambuco, Brazil. By September a number of these refugees had established the first community of Jews in the future United States.http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan26.html
1695-Considered the first Workers’ compensation agreement was made by Captain William Kidd of New York City, commander of the “Adventure Galley” of 787 tons burden. He promised to distribute to the crew one-fourth of all booty captured on privateering expeditions. According to the agreement, “ If any man should Loose a Leg or Arm in the said service, he should have six hundred pieces of Eight, or six able slaves; if any man should loose a joynt on the said service, he should have a hundred pieces of eight.”
1776-The first US Army chaplain who was Catholic was the Reverend Louis Eustace Lotbiniere, appointed by General Benedict Arnold to act as chaplain to the regiment of Colonel James Livingston in the Continental Army.
1784-In a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin expressed his unhappiness over the choice of the eagle as the symbol of America. He wrote the bald eagle was "a Bird of bad moral character" who lived "by Sharping and Robbing," expressed regret it had been selected to be the U.S. national symbol. Franklin's choice: the turkey, "a much more respectable Bird and withal a true original Native of America."
1788-A shipload of convicts arrived briefly at Botany Bay, Australia, (which proved to be unsuitable) and then at Port Jackson (later the site of the city of Sydney). Establishment of an Australian prison colony was to relieve crowding of British prisons. A fleet of 11 ships lands in Port Jackson after sailing with the continent's first 1,030 English settlers, including 736 convicts. All told, England ships more than 160,000 men, women, & children in bondage to Australia in the largest forced exile of citizens by a European government in pre-modern history. Exiles landing today become known as the First Fleet. They are so unfit for survival in the new land that they live near starvation amid what is natural abundance to Aborigines. Most of the First Fleet convicts have never traveled more than 10 miles from their birth places. They saw the sea for the first time when they were clapped in irons & thrust onto the ships. All the convicts were transported for crimes against property. They include 70-year-old Elizabeth Beckford, who was exiled for stealing 12 pounds of Gloucester cheese. West-Indian Thomas Chaddick was sent to Australia after hunger drove him to steal cucumbers from a kitchen garden.
Australia Day, formerly known as Foundation Day or Anniversary Day, has been observed since about 1817 and has been a public holiday since 1838. Observed Jan 26 if a Monday, otherwise on the first Monday thereafter .
1831- Mary Mapes Dodge birthday: American writer edited St. Nicholas Magazine, one of the first periodicals for children. She is best known for her classic novel Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates (1865).http://wwwa.search.eb.com/women/articles/Dodge_Mary_Elizabeth_Mapes.html
1837 -Michigan became the 26th state. Named Michigan after the American Indian word, Michigama, meaning great or large lake, Michigan borders four of the Great Lakes, and is divided into two peninsulas by the Straits of Mackinac that connect Lakes Michigan and Huron. The two peninsulas are recognized in the state motto: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice . Michigan is nicknamed the Wolverine State and/or the Great Lake State . The state bird is the robin; the state flower: apple blossom; state tree: white pine; state fish: trout; state gem: Isle Royal Greenstone aka Chlorastrolite. This gemstone is the Petoskey stone. The state flag, which is blue charged with the arms of the state, waves over the state capital of Lansing.
( lower portion of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan26.html )
1838-The first alcohol prohibition law enacted by a state was passed by Tennessee. The bill, an “act to repeal all laws licensing tippling houses,” provided that “all person convicted of the offense of retailing spirituous liquors shall be fined at the discretion of the court” and that the fines and forfeitures be used for the support of common good.” It appears the law did not apply to wine or beer.
1856 -- Leschi, chief of the Nisqually & Yakama Indians, leads 1,000 warriors in an attack on the town of Seattle. The attack is repulsed by naval forces in the harbor.http://www.historylink.org/output.CFM?file_ID=1960
1861-Louisiana becomes the sixth state to succeed from the union. One of the growing reasons for the secession was the admittance of Kansas to the Union, which officially occurred January 29,1861,which entered as a “free state.” On February 4th, the Confederate States of America was formed at Montgomery Alabama with Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as president and Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia vice president. Both were chosen on February 9th. The Confederate constitution specifically stated the reason for succession was to continue slavery, and on February 9th the Confederate Provisional Congress asserted that all laws under the U.S. Constitution that were not inconsistent with the constitution of the Confederate states would be recognized. The main issue was the Confederate government wanted to continue the ownership of human beings ( Blacks were not the only race that were slaves or owned by others---in fact, during this period, there were many free Blacks who owned large plantations of both Creole and Black slaves. In Mississippi itself, there were many wealthy Black plantation owners.
1863-54th Regiment (Black) infantry formed.http://extlab1.entnem.ufl.edu/olustee/54th_MS_inf.htmlhttp://www.afroammuseum.org/site1.htmhttp://www.state.ma.us/statehouse/articles/54th_men.htmhttp://www.54thmass.org/54hist.html
1863 --General Joseph Hooker replaces Burnside as head of Army of Potomac.http://www.civilwarhome.com/hookbio.htm
1875-George F. Green, of Kalamazoo, MI, received a patent for “electro-magnetic dental tools” used for sawing, filing, dressing and polishing teeth. The patent was assigned to Samuel S. White of Philadelphia, PA. In practice, the engines were too heavy and the batteries too expensive for general use.
1880-Douglas MacArthur, US general and supreme commander of Allied forces in Southwest Pacific during World War II. Born at Little Rock, AR, he served as commander of the Rainbow Division's 84th Infantry Brigade in World War I, leading it in the St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne and Sedan offensives. Remembered for his "I shall return" prediction when forced out of the Philippines by the Japanese during WW II, a promise he fulfilled. He later became involved in politics, and had set up a committee to run for president. Relieved of Far Eastern command by President Harry Truman on Apr 11, 1951, during the Korean War, after an incident regarding the landing of air craft and respect for the commander-in-chief. . MacArthur died at Washington, DC, Apr 5, 1964.
1893-Bessie Coleman born at Atlanta, Texas: America's first celebrated Black female pilot Bessie Coleman. Because of her race and gender, she was denied admission to aviation school programs in the US. In Paris, she received an international pilot's license in 1921. Upon return, "Queen Bess" took part in numerous acrobatic air exhibitions where her daring stunt-flying won her many admirers. She perished in a plane crash during a practice session, at Jacksonville, Florida, April 30, 1926. Foul play was suspected due to both her race and gender.
1907-Congress passed a prohibition on corporations from contributing to candidates’ campaign funds in presidential and congressional races. An act passed on March 4, 1909, further prohibiting national banks and corporations from making financial contributions to campaign funds in connection with any election to any political office.
1893-Birthday of violinist/Cajun music player Dennis McGee, Bayour Marron,LA
He died in 1989.http://www.cajunculture.com/People/mcgeedennis.htmhttp://www.cajunfrenchmusic.org/biographies/mcgee-d.htmhttp://www.yazoorecords.com/2012.htm
1908-Jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli born Paris, France; died Nov, 1997.http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,437799,00.html?artist=Stephane+Grappellihttp://www.cyberbites.com/marleys_ghost/grappelliobit.html
1913-Jimmy Van Heusen was born Edward Chester Babcock at Syracuse, NY. He was a composer of many popular songs with his lyricist partners Johnny Burke and Sammy Cahn. One of his 76 songs that Frank Sinatra recorded was "My Kind of Town." Van Heusen won four Academy Awards for songs in movies such as Going My Way (1944). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame when it was founded in 1971. Van Heusen died Feb 7, 1990, at Rancho Mirage, CA.http://www.jimmyvanheusen.com/
1913 - Jim Thorpe wrote the chairman of the Amateur Athletic Union revealing he had played professional baseball in 1909 and 1910. He voluntarily returned the two gold medals for the decathlon and pentathlon he won in the 1912 Olympic games in Stockholm, Sweden. Sixty years later, twenty years after his death, the AAU restored Thorpe’s amateur standing and the Olympic medals.
1915-Rocky Mountain National Park was established. Under President Woodrow Wilson, the area covering more than 1,000 square miles in Colorado became a national park.
1918-Birthday of science fiction writer Philip Jose Farmer, born Peoria, IL.http://www.pjfarmer.com/
1921-Birthday of Betty Hutton, brash actor/singer best known for her role in the movie Annie Get Your Gun (1950).
1924-Birthday of Calvin Ross(Cal)Abrams, baseball player born at Philadelphia, PA. Abrams played eight years in the major leagues and hit .269. He is most famous for this incident that I remember
this day from when I was eight years old, for being thrown out at the plate by Richie Ashburn of the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth inning of the final game of the 1950 season, thereby depriving his team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, of a shot at the pennant. Died at Ft. Lauderdale, FL, January 26,1997.
1925-Birthday of Paul Newman of “Newman’s Own,” actor (Oscar for The Color of Money; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), director (Rachel, Rachel, The Glass Menagerie), born Cleveland, OH.http://www.newmansown.com/
1928-Birthday of vocalist Eartha Kitt, North, South Carolina.http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/micro/722/33.htmlhttp://www.earthakitt.com/http://www.artsmart.co.za/music/archive/872.html
1929-Jules Feiffer, cartoonist, writer, born New York, NY.
1934 - The famous Apollo theatre in New York City's Harlem district opened as a showcase for black artists. The theatre had begun as an all-white music hall and burlesque house, and in the 1920's and early '30s was famous as Hurtig and Seamon's Burlesque. The Apollo's opening-night show featured Harlem showman Ralph Cooper, Aida Ward, Benny Carter and his orchestra and 16 dancers billed as "Gorgeous Hot-Steppers." For more than 50 years, the Apollo has been a launching pad for some of the century's greatest talent, including Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. The Apollo Theatre was declared a cultural landmark in 1983, and two years later reopened as the Apollo Theatre Television Centre. There are still live shows, but the primary purpose of the centre is to produce these shows for TV.
1934-Jimmy Lunceford Band records, “WhiteHeat,”
1934-- '50's rock 'n' roller Huey (Piano) Smith was born in New Orleans. His playing incorporated the earlier boogie style of such pianists as Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson with the New Orleans rhythm-and-blues of Fats Domino. He and his band, the Clowns, had two million-sellers in 1957 - "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" and "Don't You Just Know It."
1939 - Producer David O. Selznick began filming Gone With the Wind. Numerous problems with the script, several directors, and a soaring budget plagued the project. After he turned down the role of Rhett Butler, Gary Cooper remarked, "Gone With the Wind is going to be the biggest flop in the history of Hollywood. I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling flat on his face and not Gary Cooper".
1942-The first American expeditionary force to land in Europe in World War II arrived in Ireland and was greeted by Sir Archibald Sinclair, the British air minister. The first officer to land was Major General Russell Peter Hartle. The first enlisted man to land was Private Milburn Henke of Hutchinson, MN.
1942-West Coast Hearst newspapers engage in a vilifying attack on Japanese-Americans and begin the public outcry for mass exclusion.
1944--- Liberty Field, Camp Stewart, the Women of the Air Service Pilots (WASPS) who flew military aircraft during World War II, were ordered out on ground maneuvers with the regular male Army troops. Although the women were not military (without military benefits such as insurance, housing, free meals, health care, or uniforms, etc.), they were often ordered by misogynistic C.O.'s to perform as if they were military personnel. Out in the field without military equipment (the women often didn't even get shoe rations!) the men were busily showing the women up when the officers rang an alarm. The WASPs had no idea what the alarm meant until GI's whipped out gas masks and put them on. Not the WASPs. They had no gas masks! As the acrid smoke drifts over everyone, the women gag and cough while the men laughed and the officers smirked.
From Byrd Howell Granger's On Final Approach, The Women Air force Service Pilots of W.W.II. Scottsdale, AZ.: Falconer Publishing Company, 1991. ISBN: 0-9626267-0-8.
1944-Esquire All-Stars ( Armstrong, Eldridge, Teagarden, Hawkins) cut Basin St. Blues, Mop Mop for V-Disc._
1945 - For $3 million, a syndicate headed by Dan Topping and Larry McPhail bought the New York Yankees baseball team.
1945 -- MURPHY, AUDIE L. "Medal of Honor"
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company B 1 5th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Holtzwihr France, 26 January 1945. Entered service at: Dallas, Tex. Birth: Hunt County, near Kingston, Tex. G.O. No.. 65, 9 August 1945. Citation 2d Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by 6 tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to prepared positions in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, 1 of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machinegun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from 3 sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. 2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective. He later went on to become a major movie star in the last 294
1946-Birthday of jazz author/researcher Lee Hildebrand, Williamsport, PAhttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567996930/inktomi-bkasin-20/
ref%3Dnosim/104-4344982-0045565http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/pazznjop/critic.php3?criticid=215
1947 - On ABC radio, "The Greatest Story Ever Told" was first heard, making it the first radio series to portray Jesus Christ's voice.
1948- President Truman decides to end segregation in the armed forces and the civil service through administrative action (executive order) rather than through legislation.
He signs on July 26,1948: Executive Order 9981, to end segregation in US Armed Forces signed by President Harry Truman.http://www.trumanlibrary.org/9981.htmhttp://www.trumanlibrary.org/deseg1.htm
1949-The first tape-recording machine for mass production of tapes was announced by the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company(3M), St. Paul, MN. The machine tape 48 hours of recorded music in one hour.
1951-The first Rabbi in the Reform movement who was a woman was Paula Ackerman of Meridian, MS, who was appointed to serve in the place of her late husband as rabbi of Temple Beth Israel.
1951 - Elizabeth Taylor divorced her first husband, Nicky Hilton, on the grounds of mental cruelty. It was less than a year after their highly publicized wedding.
1953 - Film actress, dancer, and sex symbol Rita Hayworth divorced Prince Aly Khan in Reno, Nevada on this date. Hayworth once said, "Every man I knew had fallen in love with Gilda and wakened with me," referring to her most successful film role in Gilda and her less-than-successful track record in marriage.
1954---Top Hits
Stranger in Paradise - Tony Bennett
Oh! My Pa-Pa - Eddie Fisher
At the Darktown Strutters’ Ball - Lou Monte
Bimbo - Jim Reeves
1955-- Bill Haley's "Dim, Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere)" enters the R&B charts
1956 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. arrested for the first time for driving 30 mph in a 25mph zone; his home will be bombed on January 30th.http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/man/MLKtimeline.htmlhttp://www.holidays.net/mlk/rosa.htm
1956 - Buddy Holly had his first of three recording sessions in 1956 for Decca Records in Nashville, Tennessee with Owne Bradley as producer. Nothing much came out of those sessions. He formed the group, The Three Tunes (changed later to The Crickets), and went on to find fame and fortune when he hooked up with producer Norman Petty in New Mexico. Holly died in a plane crash near Mason City, IA, February 3, 1959 (“the day the music died”). He was 22. Holly was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
1957---Birthday of Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
1957-- Buddy Holly and the Crickets make their second appearance on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show. Before the show Sullivan, who considered Holly's hit "Oh, Boy!" too "raunchy," forbids him from singing it on tonight's show. Holly refuses, causing Sullivan to limit Buddy to one song instead of two, sabotage him with bad lighting and sound, and mispronounce his name. Holly is visibly upset on the stage.
1958-Ellen DeGeneres, comedienne, actress ("Ellen"), born New Orleans, LA.
1959 - "Alcoa Presents" was first seen on ABC-TV. Later, the show was renamed "One Step Beyond". It was based on "true events that are strange, frightening and unexplainable in terms of normal human experience."
1960 - Burnsville, West Virginia beat Widen, West Virginia in basketball, 173-43. Danny Heater starred by getting in 135 points.
1960 - Pete Rozelle was elected commissioner of the National Football League, a position he held for over 25 years.
1961 - President John F. Kennedy chose Dr. Janet G. Travell (Mrs. John Powell) to be the first woman to hold the position of ‘personal physician to the President’.
1961-Wayne Gretzy, former hockey player, Hockey Hall of Famer, born Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
1962---Top Hits
The Twist - Chubby Checker
Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & The Starliters
Can’t Help Falling in Love - Elvis Presley
Walk on By - Leroy Van Dyke
1963-- The Rooftop Singers' "Walk Right In" hits #1
1964-- The Four Seasons' "Walk Like a Man" enters the pop charts.
1964 -- Eighty-four people are arrested in a segregation protest in Atlanta.
1969 --California is declared a disaster area after two days of flooding and mud slides.
1970 - NFL Commissioner, Pete Rozelle, the three major television networks, NBC, CBS and ABC, agreed to pay a total of $124,000,000 over four years to broadcast National Football League games. CBS carried the NFC games and NBC the AFC. ABC had the idea to broadcast, "Monday Night Football".
1970---Top Hits
Raindrop Keep Fallin’ on My Head - B.J. Thomas
Venus - The Shocking Blue
I Want You Back - The Jackson 5
Baby, Baby (I Know You’re a Lady) - David Houston
1972--- Elvis Presley begins wearing one-piece jumpsuits during his gigs at the International Hotel, Las Vegas.
1974-- Ringo Starr's "You're Sixteen" hits #1
1977--- After removing the diamond from his famous "TCB" ring, Elvis Presley has it placed in an engagement ring for girlfriend Ginger Alden. Elvis proposes to her in the bathroom at Graceland.
1978---Top Hits
Baby Come Back - Player
Here You Come Again - Dolly Parton
You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim) - Rod Stewart
What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life - Ronnie Milsap
1978 - A paralyzing blizzard struck the Midwest. One to three feet of snow fell in Michigan, and 20 to 40 inches was reported across Indiana. Winds reached 70 mph in Michigan, and gusted above 100 mph in Ohio. The high winds produced snow drifts twenty feet high in Michigan and Indiana stranding thousands on the interstate highways. Temperatures in Ohio dropped from the 40s to near zero during the storm.
1979 - The guitar synthesizer was first demonstrated.
1979-“The Dukes of Hazzard” premiered on TV. This comedy/action show ran for seven seasons and featured car chases. Brothers Bo Kuke(John Schneider) and Luke Duke ( Tom Wopat) were the good guys, fighting crooked law enforcement in their rural southern community. Other characters included Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach), Uncle Jesse Duke(Denver Pyle), Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best), Deputy Enos Strate(Sonny Shroyer) and Boss Hogg ( Sorrell Books)
1984- "Mike Hammer" re-appeared on TV. Mike Hammer was a gritty, urban detective created by writer Mickey Spillane, very popular in both hard back and pocket book “hard boiled dick” writer, considered still a classic, definitely ahead of his time. Originally a TV series in the 50s with Darren McGavin, CBS revived the series with Stacy Keach as the hard-boiled detective. Production was stopped while Keach was briefly imprisoned for a drug charge in 1984 but the series returned in 1986. Darrin McGavin, who most likely is best remembered as "Kolchak: The Night Stalker", was the originally Mike Hammer on television and one of my favorite shows. As a teenager, I never missed it and consequently read all Spillane's books, along with Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Kenneth Millar aka Ross McDonald. Spillane is one of America's greatest authors and his works should be studied in colleges and universities as there are many levels and messages in his observations of good versus evil.
1985 - With a 66-65 win, St. Johns University ended Georgetown’s 29-game winning streak. Chris Mullin, now an NBA star, scored 20 points for St. Johns. Patrick Ewing, also an NBA star, lead Georgetown with 9 points, in this the Big East Conference basketball game.
1986-Chicago Wins Super Bowl XX: In their first Super Bowl outing, the Chicago Bears romped over the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XX, 46-10. Chicago spotted the Patriots a 3-0 lead but then scored the next 44 points while holding New England to seven yards rushing.
1986---Top Hits
That’s What Friends are For - Dionne & Friends
Burning Heart - Survivor
Talk to Me - Stevie Nicks
Never Be You - Rosanne Cash
1986--- Corey Hart's "Boy in the Box" album reached the million mark in sales in Canada. Hart was the second Canadian artist to reach the figure, which qualified him for a diamond award. The first Canadian artist to sell a million copies of an album was Bryan Adams, whose "Reckless" album reached that mark in December 1985.
1987 - Coca-Cola was officially named the #1 soft drink in the United States. Pepsi- Cola was at #2.
1988 - The incoming hit musical from London, The Phantom of The Opera, set a Broadway record in advance sales of over $12 million before its grand opening on Broadway on this date. Phantom took in a record-setting amount of $920,272 in seventeen hours when tickets went on sale the previous November.
1988 - A snowstorm in the northeastern U.S. produced 19 inches at Austerlitz NY and Stillwater NY. A storm in the Great Lakes Region left 16.5 inches at Marquette MI, for a total of 43 inches in six days.
1992 - Super Bowl XXVI (at Minneapolis): Washington Redskins 37, Buffalo Bills 24. Washington led 37-10 before Buffalo scored a pair of TDs in the final six minutes. Bills’ QB Jim Kelly threw the football a record 58 times (with 4 interceptions) in the losing effort. MVP: Redskins’ QB Mark Rypien. Tickets: $150.00http://images.nfl.com/history/images/0126.jpg
1994—Top Hits
All For Love- Bryan Adams/Rod Stewart/Sting
Hero- Mariah Carey
Breathe Again- Toni Braxton
The Power Of Love- Celine Dion
1995- For a price-tag of $1.7 billion, Cadbury Schweppes, whose arsenal of products already included A&W root beer, Canada Dry, and Crush and Sunkist fruit colas, buyn the United States' third-biggest soft drink concern, the Dr. Pepper / Seven-Up Company. The acquisition left Cadbury Schweppes with 17% of America's $49 billion soda market, putting it just behind Coca-Cola and Pepsico in the field.
1997 - Super Bowl XXXI (at New Orleans): ZZ Top, James Brown, and the "Blues Brothers" perform at the Super Bowl XXXI halftime show. Green Bay 35, New England 21. A classic team effort: QB Brett Favre passed for two TDs and Desmond Howard (MVP) returned a kickoff 99 yards for a score as the Packers won their 12th NFL championship and the first since Super Bowl II in 1968. Tickets: $275.00.
1998 - Compaq Computer Corp. and Digital Equipment Corp. announced plans to merge. In the largest computer biz acquisition to that time, the deal was worth $9.6 billion. March 20, 2002 the stock holders approved the company’s merger with Hewlett-Packard.http://h18000.www1.hp.com/newsroom/pr/2002/pr2002032001.html
1999--- The National Transportation Safety Board determines the cause of John Denver's fatal 1997 airplane crash: Denver neglected to fill his main tank with enough fuel, and in the process of switching over to his backup tank inadvertently put the plane into a deadly roll.
2005 --- Condoleezza Rice is appointed to the post of secretary of state. The post makes her the highest ranking African-American woman ever to serve in an U.S. presidential cabinet.